Patient-important outcomes in randomized controlled trials in critically ill patients
Patient-important outcomes are rarely primary outcomes in RCTs in critically ill patients published in 2013. Among them, mortality accounted for the majority. We promote the use of patient-important outcomes in critical care... read more
Unintended Consequences: Fluid Resuscitation Worsens Shock in an Ovine Model of Endotoxemia
Fluid resuscitation resulted in a paradoxical increase in vasopressor requirement. Additionally, it did not result in improvements in any of the measured microcirculatory- or organ-specific markers measured. The increase... read more
When is Patient Feedback Valid? Supporting Patient Feedback as a Catalyst for Change
As part of the revalidation process, doctors must collect patient feedback at least once every five years. While it is encouraging to see patient feedback included in this process, questions must be asked about what message,... read more
Recommendations on the Use of Ultrasound Guidance for Adult Thoracentesis
The use of ultrasound guidance for thoracentesis has been associated with increased success rates and decreased complication rates. Ultrasound can be used to estimate the pleural fluid volume, characterize the effusion as... read more
The Artificial Intelligence Clinician Learns Optimal Treatment Strategies for Sepsis in Intensive Care
Sepsis is the third leading cause of death worldwide and the main cause of mortality in hospitals but the best treatment strategy remains uncertain. In particular, evidence suggests that current practices in the administration... read more
Acute Right Heart Failure
The right ventricle is often overlooked in critical care in favour of the attention to the left side of the heart. But acute right heart failure is important and today on the podcast we discuss its implications for critical... read more
Trick of the Trade: Bubble Study for Confirmation of Central Line Placement
The safe placement a central venous catheter (CVC) remains an important part of caring for critically ill patients. Over 5 million CVCs are placed each year in the United States. It is crucial to confirm that the central... read more
Echocardiography and Lung Ultrasonography for the Assessment and Management of AHF
Echocardiography is increasingly recommended for the diagnosis and assessment of patients with severe cardiac disease, including acute heart failure (AHF). Echocardiography and LUS can assist in the rapid assessment of patients... read more
Optimizing Patient and Family Education Resources for the ICU
Offering stronger patient and family education tools in the ICU will ease patient and caregiver fears and make them more comfortable with the care setting. An integrated, centralized, and digital platform is best suited for... read more
The Psychological Impact of Intensive Care
A period in intensive care is known to negatively affect patients' long term physical, cognitive and psychiatric health, in what's known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). Researchers from the University of Oxford sought... read more
50 States Ranked by Amount of Active Nurses
California contains the most professionally active registered nurses in the U.S. with 337,738 RNs, according to a ranking from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The ranking is based on October 2018 data compiled by Redi-Data... read more
Reassessing the death risk related to probiotics in critically ill patients
Probiotics prove to be a very useful weapon to reduce infections in critically ill patients, although strong recommendation in support of their use cannot be drawn yet. Reassessing the risk ratio with the meta-analytic software... read more
The Year They Tried to Kill Me: Surviving a Surgical Internship… Even If the Patients Don’t
Not exactly the warm welcome I hoped for. But I was just a naive Wisconsin boy, fresh out of medical school and new to Oakland, California. I chose Highland Hospital for my surgical internship: an entire year filled with... read more
Fluid Management in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
In this video, Dr. Stacey Valentine discusses fluid management in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), including the evidence supporting fluid-restrictive strategies. Both acute lung injury and its more severe form,... read more
Humanizing the ICU
In the midst of trying to correct organ failures, clinicians may neglect to carefully consider what the patient is experiencing: to be on the brink of death, be unable to speak, be stripped naked, have strangers enter the... read more
Partial Pressure of Oxygen and Neurological Outcome in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients
Following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), patients regularly suffer from post cardiac arrest syndrome including symptoms of anoxic brain injury and reperfusion-related damage. Hyperoxemia or hypoxemia exposure occurred... read more
Association of Antibiotic Treatment with Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized for an Asthma Exacerbation Treated with Systemic Corticosteroids
Antibiotic therapy may be associated with a longer hospital length of stay, higher hospital cost, and similar risk of treatment failure. These results highlight the need to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing among... read more
Mimics of Sepsis: What do ED Physicians Need to Know?
SIRS and sepsis are common clinical entities. A wide range of estimates for prevalence exists, with 300 to 1000 cases per 100,000 persons per year. Once a septic patient is admitted, more than half will require at least step... read more
Less or More Hemodynamic Monitoring in Critically Ill Patients
The use of echocardiography should be initially encouraged in patients with shock to identify the type of shock and to select the most appropriate therapy. The use of more invasive hemodynamic monitoring techniques should... read more
Nutrition Support for the Critically Ill
This text provides a review of the current knowledge in both the mechanics of nourishing the critically ill and the metabolic and immunological roles nutrients play. In-depth chapters discuss disease-related malnutrition... read more
Systematic Review of the Effects of ICU Noise on Sleep of Healthy Subjects and the Critically Ill
ICU patients exhibit disturbed sleeping patterns, often attributed to environmental noise, although the relative contribution of noise compared to other potentially disrupting factors is often debated. We therefore systematically... read more
ICU RN Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout Linked to Moral Distress
Job satisfaction and practice environment are associated with moral distress among critical care nurses, according to a study published online Jan. 3 in the American Journal of Critical Care. The researchers found that 56... read more
